Wide Storm Damage, Rudin Project Undone

On Monday, at a joint meeting with the Trustees, the Town Board ordered William Rudin of Dune Road to remove from the beach the remnants of the woven plastic tubing used in his massive "subsurface dune restoration system," some of which had drifted as far west as the Shinnecock Inlet.

The board also authorized Lisa Kombrink, the town attorney, to go to court to fight Mr. Rudin's neighbors Ronald and Isobel Konecky, who had workers installing a temporary steel bulkhead last weekend.

Emergency Action

As of last night, Southampton Town had issued emergency permits allowing eight property owners on Dune and Potato Roads and Daniel's Lane in the Bridgehampton-Sagaponack area to protect their houses with sandbags.

In addition, one permit had been issued to relocate a Daniel's Lane residence, and two more were pending for the relocation of two on Potato Road.

The town also announced it would seek emergency state funding to rebuild the dune at Cameron Beach.

The Trustees, meanwhile, voted to hold a public hearing on March 5 to consider revoking Mr. Rudin's permit in light of the project's failure.

Girding for a potential court battle, the Trustees also asked the Town Board to hire outside counsel and experts in erosion control for them, and ordered the town's bay constables to patrol the beaches, report on violations, and issue summonses to property owners breaking Trustee regulations.

Sabotage?

Mr. Rudin believes his system was sabotaged. He said workers inspecting the structure on Jan. 28 as the northeaster was beginning found a one-foot-square slash in one of the plastic tubes that were filled with sand and stacked in a pyramid-like pattern.

"It's very sad that someone took the law into their own hands," he said. "It's very disappointing that this system was not allowed to prove it could work."

"That thing has been through two or three storms that were worse," said Aram Terchunian of First Coastal Corporation, who designed Mr. Rudin's system. "To have it so completely fail is highly unlikely."

Beaches Closed

Mr. Terchunian said workers had taken photographs of the hole, which he said was "obviously made with a knife," and turned them over to Southampton Town police, who are investigating. He said storm conditions and darkness on Jan. 28 had made it impossible for workers to see if there were other tears in the fabric.

Mr. Terchunian said his suspicion that the system was sabotaged was strengthened when workers came to the Rudin property early last Thursday and found a crudely lettered, handmade sign wired to a construction fence. "Ha, ha, asshole," it read.

The town declared a state of emergency last Thursday, closing all ocean beaches and Dune Road. Although the decree ended on Tuesday, town officials said they were prepared to take similar action this week as another northeaster, expected to be even stronger, moved up the Atlantic Coast.

Moving crews were at the Rudin house and several neighboring residences last Thursday hauling out furnishings. Mr. Rudin said he had not decided if he would try to rebuild the erosion control structure.

Published reports have put the cost of the system, which required over 2,000 yards of sand and extended over 100 feet, at up to $1.3 million. Mr. Rudin called the figure "wildly inaccurate," but declined to say how much it cost.

The storm erosion toppled Mr. Rudin's deck and threatened the home of his next-door neighbors, the Koneckys, who on Jan. 23 had won a court decision giving them permission to install a temporary steel bulkhead.

Beach In Jeopardy

Southampton Town immediately filed a notice of appeal, which it considered a stay of that order, said Lisa Kombrink, the town attorney.

On Tuesday, the Appellate Division in Brooklyn turned down the town's request for a temporary restraining order against the Koneckys, but agreed to hold a hearing on the matter next week, Ms. Kombrink said.

The Jan. 28 storm also washed away sand the town had placed to protect the Cameron Beach parking lot, which had been exposed during earlier storms. Large slabs of the blacktop were strewn about the beach, and a septic system for a beach pavilion that was destroyed by fire a year ago lay exposed on the beach.

Mecox Vulnerable

The narrow stretch of beach separating Mecox Bay from the ocean was flattened, leaving the bay vulnerable to a storm tide.

While Mr. Rudin was blaming vandals, persons who attended the Town Board and Trustee meeting on Monday said he himself was at fault for stubbornly fighting a losing battle against nature.

"We're at a crossroads. We can still have a beautiful coast if private landowners move back," said Carolyn Zenk, the attorney for the Group for the South Fork.

Ms. Zenk called on the town to revoke Mr. Rudin's permit and impose a moratorium on shore-hardening structures until it could pass legislation that would ban them outright.

Urge Moratorium

Otherwise, she said, the shoreline would soon look like New Jersey's: "a coastline strewn with boulders, metal, and wood, and the ocean lapping at it."

Councilman Patrick (Skip) Heaney was widely applauded when he said he had asked the town attorney's office to look into the ramifications of a moratorium. "But it's my sense that there is more symbolism associated with it than reality," he added.

Edward Padula, another of Mr. Rudin's neighbors, asked the board to consider the consequences of allowing such erosion-control structures as Mr. Rudin's "from the point of view of a victim."

He said he had moved his house three times in the past few months because of the erosion caused by the Rudin project, at a cost of up to $200,000. It now sits on pilings in his driveway.

Homeowner To Sue

"I find that I have been rendered homeless by what has happened," Mr. Padula said. Although he said he felt no "animosity" toward Mr. Rudin or the town, he said he would seek restitution for damages.

Stuart Vorpahl, an East Hampton bayman, told the board property owners who tried to fight the sea would lose, because waves hit the shoreline in an easterly set, gouging away at bulkheads and other structures.

"Mother Nature is going to win that battle every time," he said. "I don't think you're going to have too much trouble with Mr. Rudin's house come Friday or Saturday."

Mr. Rudin received a town permit to build the dune-restoration system to settle his share of a $75 million lawsuit. He and seven neighbors had sued the town when it asked them to prepare an environmental impact statement as part of their application to build a connected series of steel bulkheads.

The project caused a public uproar. The town allowed Mr. Rudin to build a massive steel "cofferdam" to protect the construction work. It jutted out into the ocean, blocking beach access.

The situation did not improve when the cofferdam was removed, revealing sloped stacks of sand-filled tubes that some said resembled the bulbous Michelin Man. The tubes continued to block the beach.

Angry Residents

Some residents charged the Town Board with favoritism in its enforcement of the state of emergency.

Bob DeLuca and Jim Williams said they were turned back at a Dune Road police checkpoint, while contractors installing the bulkhead at the Konecky residence were allowed to pass.

"How is that those guys were allowed through to work on a project that is in direct violation of a court stay?" asked Mr. DeLuca.

Hal Ross of Water Mill, the leader of the opposition Southampton Party, said the town had allowed its emergency proclamation to "protect the lawbreakers."

"We feel your rage," responded Supervisor Vincent Cannuscio. He explained that the town had allowed moving crews and construction workers to enter the restricted area to avoid becoming entangled in issues of liability, but stressed that officials in no way condoned the illegal work.